That's right, when evaluating 64 brands, 16 each from four regions of the United States, for uniqueness, relevance to people's lives, the level of regard with which people view a brand and how well audiences understand the brand, New Orleans beat Disney, McDonald's, Harley-Davidson, Boeing, Ford, and it narrowly edged out Facebook in the finals.

"Yeah, we were surprised, too," says a report from Y&R. "How did the Big Easy best the Silicon Valley social media behemoth by fractions of a point?"

Differentiation, or the uniqueness of the brand, was one of the key attributes the study measured.

"Facebook is strong on these metrics, too, but that fractional edge put New Orleans over the top," the report said. "Does that mean Americans are quitting Facebook to move to New Orleans? Probably not. But perhaps we'll see a rise in selfies taken on Bourbon Street."